The Irish standard., 1887-10-22
AROUND MUCKR0SS ABBEY.
The Park at Muckross is a Rare Cont
bi1lation of the Beauties
of Nature and Art.
GlENGAR|FF AND BANTRY BAY,

GLENGAR|FF AND BANTRY BAY
Muckross Abbey was in the Possession o
the Franolscans from 1870 Down
to Its Suppression.
Rev. Bernard O'Reilly writes: liz
the jmpossibiity Of seeing even one
third Of the sights about which the
tourists around me- speak with such en-
thusiasm, I have limited myself to a
drive through MIR. Herbert's demesne
of Muckross, adjoining tEe Lake Hotel.
It is only Just TO the Herberts of Xii
| larney to say that they have notallowed
their property SC fail into the decay,
the rum, the degrading and shame
full poverty TO be met with On the es-
tates Of the White family around Ban
try Bay, the family of tbs Earl Of Ban
tly. [ am lot acquainted with The tle--
tails of the long course Of extravaganza
which ended in driving the present
proprietor of Muckross abbey and its
broad acres from his nome an0 from
ireland, as I am with the rsckless CON-
duct OF the young Earl Of Bantry- Mr.
Herbert, they say. was Dot<. bad land
lord. Bat the mat into whose hands
tbe management OF the Muckross
deuesne has now fallen is cordially,
and to all accounts not uAdeserve6ly,
detested by the tenantry. Sc it is with
Lord Bantry and his agent. The forrG-
CT, Father Mangan, parish priest of
G<lengaritf, tells me, is not hard upon
his farmers and tenants. But his agent
more than makes up for this BY his sys-
tenatic tyranny. The Ioaynes, father
and son, enjoy most unenyjaDle rep1t-
tation among that pitiless class, the
Irish land agents.
AT any rate, there is g marked di{fer~
ence between the appearance Of q care
fnl culture and prosperity which strikes
the visitor to Muckross Abbey and its
ilnmepse park. and The squalid poverty
which marks the condition Of Lord
Ba,ltly's tenants and those Of his cousin
Of Glengariff Castle. These two men
own between them the naturally most
beautiful and most picturesque environs
Of Bantry Bay. They have made it to
look like what i.p reality it is--a land
bIed to death, which ought 10 be aud
might easily bs & land teeu1iug with
plenty ana with life. Jhe Muckross
estate, on tke contrary-and tbs same,
I am informed can be said of other es-
tates i'll Killarney and leighborhood
is most carefully cultivated, and It's
park a rare combination OF the beauties
of nature aud art. The shady road
which We entered upon at the brow Of
the hills oyershadowing Che upper lake
Continued nile after snile till we ar
rived at TIE Lake Hotel. Tie road it.
self runs right through Mnekross Park,
ski1ting the foot Of Tore Mountain, and
affording, through the masses OF tbe
timber, delightful glimpses
of the middle and lower lakes. We
were shown MI. Herherts game-keep
er's lodge, and then. from distance TO
distance, we came upon the pretty cot
tages Of the assistant keepers. Then
we passed his great farmhouse with the
extensive fields beyond, and q little vii
lage OF street Of cottages, far superior
in appearance, solidity, neatness and
comfort to the Wrstched mockeries of
human habitations to be seen around
Glengarif and Bantry Bay.
/ was, therefore, quite anxious to ex- |
plore this far-famed deuesne OF Muck
ross early on the morrow after arrival.
The entrance is through stately gate
of quite modern construction. Mr.. /
Huzzy, who, by the way, needed not
dynamite TO blow him into world wide
demands that each visitor
shall pay fee of one shilling rs cents). |
An inscription warns you to touch
neither tree, nor shrub, nor flower, and
'hen YOU drive through broad ex.
'anse Of brightest green, reaching down
% the lake shore, and studded here and
here with gigantic beecbes and oaks.
spent two months last summer in
Ieran, among the richest culture and
scenery Of the Austrian Tyrol;
b We seen within the last decade. in
taly and Spain, without speaking of
france, the most charming sites in
europe; and ] am bound to say that
oy eyes have never rested on picture
t more varied loveliness than that af-
orded US by our three hours drive
trough the grounds around the ancient
Abbey of MLcl1ross.
We had just arrived at the middle of
ne broad avenue of gigantic trees t
lanted by the monks who founded this ,
ncient seat Of monastic piety and
'arnlng. Our intelligent driver made I
pause to admire this pathway, fol- ;
wed OF old, long before the English lr
lVaslOn, bv the young men, " '10 ~. mo \ =